Yes, Lindsey Vonn is out with an injury. Yes, Bob Costas is pompous. And yes, Vladimir Putin is a tyrant. But none of that will stop the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia next month from being a highly entertaining spectacle. Here are three big reasons why.

More than 340 high school competitors from Metro Portland and the Gorge opened the racing season on Mount Hood by ripping through the gates in blustery conditions on the Magic Mile Saturday for the 2014 Christine Cato Memorial Race.